Team Stats

Hitting %

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Digs

Aces

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The USC Upstate volleyball team (10-13, 5-6 A-Sun) has won three-straight matches and will put that streak to the test with two road Atlantic Sun Conference contests this weekend, traveling to Northern Kentucky (20-5, 7-4 A-Sun) and Lipscomb (12-10, 9-2 A-Sun).

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Clash of the Helmets: Upstate travels to Northern Kentucky Friday for a 7 p.m. A-Sun contest. Earlier this season, the Norse picked-up a 3-1 (25-20, 25-21, 21-25 and 25-23) victory at Upstate Oct. 6. NKU is currently third in the A-Sun team standings. The Norse lead the league in three categories with a .248 hitting percentage, 13.01 assists per set and 14.14 kills per set.

Bison Bites: The Spartans travel to Music City Saturday, taking on Lipscomb at 3 p.m. for a conference match-up. The Bison hold a 9-0 advantage against the Spartans, including a 4-0 mark in Nashville. In the first meeting between the two teams this season, LU defeated Upstate 3-0 (25-21, 25-21 and 25-20) in Spartanburg Oct. 5. The Bison are second in the league standings and statistically rank second in assists (13.00 aps) and kills (14.00 kps). In A-Sun play, LU is second in hitting percentage (.244), assists (13.37 aps) and kills (14.44 kps).

QUICK HITS:

• Upstate is on a three-match winning-streak, picking up two wins last week. The Spartans have won four of their last five matches. The three-straight wins are the most consecutive A-Sun victories for Upstate since joining the league in 2007.

• The Spartans are fresh off an exciting 3-2 (16-25, 25-17, 26-24, 25-27 and 15-10) win over ETSU Oct. 19. The Buccaneers were third in the A-Sun standings before entering the contest against Upstate. The Spartans look to repeat that this weekend, knocking off Northern Kentucky, who currently is third in the conference standings.

• In A-Sun play, Upstate paces the league in digging, averaging 18.21 digs per set, which will make for interesting match-ups this weekend as the Spartans face two of the conference's top hitting teams.

• The Spartans also lead the A-Sun service aces with 1.49 aces per set in conference play.

• Freshman Lexi Gober tops the conference in service aces with 0.42 per set in A-Sun competition, while senior Emily Sanders ranks second in league play, averaging 4.90 digs a set.

Both of the Spartans' matches this weekend will be streamed live on ASun.TV for free. The match at Northern Kentucky will be available on live stats here and the contest against Lipscomb will be available via live stats here. Follow Upstate volleyball this season on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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The University of South Carolina Upstate is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and masters degrees.Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1865 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia, 30033or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of USC Upstate.